Franz Danzi (1763-1826)
Wind Quintets, Op. 67 Nos. 1-3. Sonata
for Horn and Piano in E flat major, Op. 28
In the
mid-eighteenth century the city of Mannheim enjoyed an unrivalled reputation
for its music. Described by the German writer Schubert as "the musical
Athens of the German-speaking world," the city owed much of its fame to
its court, "whose rays," according to Leopold Mozart, "illumine
the whole of Germany, nay even the whole of Europe, like those of the
sun." Central to the musical success of the court was its orchestra, which
Leopold described as "undeniably the best in Europe", and which,
according to Charles Burney, could boast "more solo players and good
composers than any other orchestra in Europe." Under the direction of
Johann Stamitz, this "army of generals, equally fit to plan a battle as to
fight in it," was responsible for a number of developments in orchestral
writing, but it is remembered in particular for establishing the crescendos and
diminuendos which were to become an integral part of symphonic music during the
remainder of the century.
Among Stamitz's "army of
generals" was Innocenz Danzi, a cellist who joined the orchestra in 1754
and subsequently married the daughter of the composer Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi.
Franz, the eldest of their three children, was born on 15th May 1763, and
showed early promise as a singer and as a cellist, singing in the Elector's
chapel choir as a boy and joining the Mannheim Orchestra in 1778 when he was
just fifteen years old. Despite this success he stayed behind to play with the
orchestra of the National Theatre when the court moved to Munich later in the
year, and rejoined the orchestra only in 1783 when he succeeded his father as
its principal cellist. By now, however, his heart lay in composition and after
his opera Die Mittemachtstunde scored a considerable success in 1788,
the cello was increasingly relegated to the sidelines.
Danzi's appointment as Vice
Kapellmeister to the Munich court in May 1798 was not entirely successful,
partly because of a personality clash with the Kapellmeister and partly
because his wife Margarete's death from consumption left him emotionally unable
to direct operas in which she had previously sung. He must therefore have been
pleased to move to Stuttgart as conductor of the Württemberg Orchestra in 1807
even though the city could not rival Munich in musical terms. It was also
dominated by intrigue and debauchery and its attraction wore off so quickly
that within a year Danzi was on the lookout for another job. This proved
elusive, until he was offered the post of Kapellmeister at the Baden
court in Karlsruhe in 1812. He derived great solace from his blossoming
friendship with Carl Maria von Weber, who was 23 years his junior but with whom
he shared a correspondence, sometimes in verse or musical recitative, until his
death.
To a musician whose background was with
the Mannheim Orchestra, standards at Karlsruhe must have seemed abysmal. The
26-man orchestra was even worse than at Stuttgart, and despite Danzi's attempts
to improve their playing, the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung reported
that even in 1817 he was having to "stamp out the beat with his foot in an
attempt to hold the orchestra together, especially at important entries."
His efforts took a toll on both his health and enthusiasm but did have some
effect; by the time of his death on 13th April 1826 the orchestra boasted 44
members and a repertoire which included works by Mozart, Cherubini, Beethoven
and Weber as well as Danzi himself. He also seems to have maintained a sense of
proportion about his situation, earning the respect of Ludwig Spohr as "a
most amiable artiste" and of Max Maria von Weber as a "plump little
man with a rounded head and sharp, clever eyes which always seemed good- humoured."
Although Danzi did not live in any of
Europe's main musical centres after 1812, the publication of his Op.56
Quintets for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon in 1821 indicates that
he kept abreast of the latest developments, for this combination of instruments
had hardly been used until Anton Reicha published six quintets in Paris in
1817. Reicha then published a further set of six annually for the next three
years, and Danzi was clearly trying to cash in on their popularity, giving his
set not to his usual publisher but to the Parisian Maurice Schlesinger, and
allowing the dedication to Reicha to appear in larger letters than his own
name. His sales figures were also helped by his concise style, technically
undemanding and formally conventional, which contrasted with Reicha's expansive
and often virtuoso approach.
Danzi must have been encouraged by the
response to the Opus 56 Quintets for soon afterwards he composed
a further six works for the same combination of instruments. This time,
however, they were published by Johann Andre of Offenbach, who was famous for
his pioneering editions of Mozart's works and under whose imprint a few of
Danzi's works already appeared. The new sets, which again demonstrate the
composer's facility with attractive melodies and gently chromatic harmonies,
appeared around the end of 1823 or early in 1824 as Opus 67 and 68
with consecutive publisher's plate numbers but no dedications.
When Breitkopf and Härtel advertised
Danzi's Sonata for Horn and Piano in E flat, Op.28 in the November 1804
edition of the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, they also offered a
cello part as an alternative to the horn line. This canny sales pitch was
probably adopted because of the sheer novelty of the medium; although the horn
was well established as a concerto soloist, there was no tradition of it being
accompanied by piano. Franz Süssmayr had abandoned a work for the two
instruments, but Beethoven had found their contrasting characteristics easier
to cope with and it is likely that his sonata for horn and piano which had been
published in 1801 was the model for Danzi's own work in the genre.
Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung was
greatly impressed by the result, publishing a lengthy review of Danzi's
"distinguished" sonata in May 1805 and praising in particular the
"uncommonly pretty" sound of the two instruments playing together.
The critic also enjoyed the work's "agreeable and flowing melodies",
and appreciated the composer's achievement in keeping the score "tree from
artificial airs and graces." The piano line obviously required a
"first-rate player who can produce a beautiful tone on the
instrument", but "lay well for the hand" and was "agreeably
free from hocus pocus". It was, he concluded, a work in which "every
page cries out to become well-known".
John Humphries
Michael Thompson Wind Quintet
Flute: Jonathan Snowden
Oboe: Derek Wickens
Clarinet: Robert Hill
Bassoon: John Price
Horn: Michael Thompson
The Michael Thompson Wind Quintet came
into existence under its present name in 1992, when Barry Tuckwell announced
that he was leaving the Wind Quintet that bore his name and the other
instrumentalists unanimously turned to the finest horn soloist they knew to
take his place. When approached, Michael Thompson had no hesitation in
accepting the invitation to head the illustrious group. The original Quintet,
which brought together five of London's leading wind-players, was formed in
1969 and in the course of the next two decades performed in Russia, Australia,
the Far East, Europe and the United States. The Quintet today is of impeccable
pedigree, each player a soloist in his own right. In addition to concert
engagements in Europe, America and the Middle East the group is currently
engaged in major projects to record the wind music of Anton Reicha, Franz Danzi
and Franz Krommer. The discs released to date have met with unqualified
critical acclaim. The Quintet is able to draw on a number of outstanding
players to augment its forces as necessary, such as on the present recording.
Michael Thompson
Michael Thompson occupies a leading
position among horn-players today. At the age of twenty-one he was appointed
principal horn of the Philharmonia, a position he held for ten years, before
leaving to concentrate on his career as a soloist and chamber- musician. His
busy international schedule has taken him to Japan, the USA, Australia and
major concert halls throughout Europe and he has recorded a wide range of
music, from classical and romantic repertoire to works by Messiaen, Birtwistle,
Maxwell Davies and Tippett. He has championed new music with first performances
of Anthony Power's Horn Concerto, a revised version of Michael
Berkeley's Concerto and concertos written for him by Simon Bainbridge
and Bruce Broughton. The Michael Thompson Wind Quintet has also established
itself in the concert hall and recording studio, with a current project to
record the complete works for wind ensemble of Reicha and Krommer.
Philip Fowke
Philip Fowke has established a
distinguished reputation for himself as a pianist, with many broadcasts and
recordings as well as appearances as a soloist with leading orchestras. In
England he is well known as a broadcaster and is Director of Keyboard Studies
at Trinity College of Music in London. Philip Fowke boasts a wide-ranging repertoire
as a soloist and recitalist and appears regularly throughout Britain, in
addition to his concerts in the United States of America, Scandinavia, Germany,
Italy, South America and New Zealand, As well as standard repertoire he has
recorded concertos by Gerald Finzi, Arthur Bliss and Delius.